1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a carrying and support system for a person, and more particularly to such a system having a portable container to contain an injured person with relative comfort and safety in a manner that the person can be properly moved to another location. The system of the present invention is particularly adapted to permit a burn victim to be moved to a treatment location.
2. Background Art
There are difficulties in transporting an injured person in an emergency situation where it is necessary to move that person over rough or difficult terrain. Further, there are particular problems where the person is a burn victim who must be transported.
Several years ago Mr. Eric Davies (now deceased), one of the co-inventors herein, was in a driving accident where various surface areas of his body were burned, and it was necessary for him to be transported to a hospital. A common method of transporting such a victim (and the one which was used in Mr. Davies' situation) is to place the victim on a stretcher and then apply straps over the person to hold the person securely to the stretcher. The discomfort and pain in such a situation can be substantial, particularly where the retaining straps engage the burned portion from the person's body. Further, the retaining straps and other components of the stretcher system which engages a person's body can cause further damage if the localized force or pressure is excessive, or if there is rubbing or abrasion. Then if there is any jostling of the stretcher system while the person is retained thereon, this can further aggravate the pain and discomfort. It was as a result of this incident that Mr. Davies was motivated to find a transport system which could be used effectively in these circumstances. Mr. Davies was not able to find any system available which answered these needs, and this led Mr. Davies to initiate the project of devising such a system.
A search of the patent literature has disclosed a number of systems for transporting a person, and a number of these have utilized inflatable components. Some of these systems utilize inflatable components to provide structural members or a structural framework which actually functions as the supporting structure. One of the difficulties with such a system is that for the inflatable member to function adequately as a structural member, the component must be pressurized to the extent that it presents a somewhat unyielding surface, with diminishing ability to function as a yielding cushion. Thus, while such inflatable structures may provide advantages by being light weight and more easily transportable in a collapsed condition, in general these do not adequately meet the needs of providing for the positioning and restraining of the person in a manner that the discomfort and possible aggravation leading to further injury are adequately minimized.
The patents which were developed in the above-mentioned search of the patent literature are the following:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,301,791--Franco shows a body transfer unit made up of upper and lower sections, both of which are inflatable members. It is stated at the bottom of column 1 and the top of column 2 of the patent that, "The invention can be employed prior to the treatment of patients suffering from a variety of maladies including fractures, heart attacks, electrical shock, burns, head injuries, amputations, hypothermia . . . ". In one arrangement, this inflatable structure is shown as being attached to a planar "reinforcing member 96" which appears to be a board-like member to which the back side of the back inflatable member is attached. There are various access openings to permit intravenous feeding or the like, or possibly provide access for a heart massage. Such an opening is shown in FIG. 4 at 90, with a closure flap 92 being shown. The unit of this Franco patent has the problems discussed above regarding such inflatable structures, in that the inflatable portions function as structural members and thus would presumably need to be inflated to sufficiently high levels so that these would not be effective as yielding cushions.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,607,655--Wagner et al shows an inflatable and self-supporting survival shelter comprising a floor and sidewalls which assume the configuration of a small tent.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,528,704--Wegener et al shows a patient moving device in which there is a lower inflatable member. A cushion of air is formed under the device so as to raise it from the support surface, something in the nature of a ground effects machine.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,518--Buhren et al shows a patient carrying device where there is a base member and sidewalls. The base member is filled with pellets, made of a plastic material. When the patient is supported by the device, it is evacuated and the pellets conform to the contour of the patient.
The following patents show various pressurized garments or devices to position or secure a person's limb. These are the following:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,624,248--Poole et al PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,375,809--Neals PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,340,042--Smith PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,331,133--Arkans PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,182,320--Sweeney PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,157,713--Clarey
U.S. Pat. No. 3,811,139--Shaw shows a stretcher for carrying a person in an immobilized condition. This device has holes mounted in the sidewalls, and rods are placed through the holes to position certain parts of the person's body. In column 4, beginning at line 57 of this patent, it is stated that complete immobilization of the injured person is achieved by placing pillows 34 around the injured person to restrict his movement. It is stated that the pillows are preferably of the inflatable type, and these apply a uniform pressure over a large surface area of the body, these being held in place by a removable top panel 35. Also, pillows are placed near the injured person's head and held in place by a separate transparent faceplate 39 of approximately the same width as the top panel 35.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,286,707--Shafer shows a device which is called a "health aid device", and appears to be a passive exercise device. The person is apparently placed in a frame and held immobilized by an inflatable structure. Then this frame is rotated to give a desired physical effect to the person.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,027,764--Rilleau discloses a device to protect an aviator. There is a double-walled structure which is inflated, and this serves as a protective device for the person in the situation where there is a crash.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,234,982--Bez et al shows a mattress which is loosely filled with a multitude of particles to enable the mattress to adapt in shape to the body contour of the person. Then the mattress is evacuated so as to retain the body contour.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,104,750--Kelter et al shows a baby crib which is formed as an inflatable structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,039,039--Gottfried shows a pair of inflatable splinting trousers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,024,861--Vincet shows an inflatable bag to support victims of spinal injuries. There are retaining members which reach from the bag upwardly around the person's body to retain and position the person.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,740,777--Dee shows a bed support which is inflatable.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,609,778--Zeiner shows what is called a "rigid litter", which is a planar support member on which the person rests. Straps are provided to hold the person on the underlying support member.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,513,486--Miller et al shows a bassinette made up of walls which are inflated to form the structure of the bassinette.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,462,775--Markowitz et al shows a supporting device which is inflated to support a patient in a manner to prevent the formation of bed sores.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,186,405--Bailey et al discloses an inflatable splint.
U S. Pat. No. 3,121,881--Schnell shows a stretcher having a canopy to protect the injured person.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,183,110--Kidd et al shows a casualty transfer system in which the stretcher has two halves to protect the victim. There is a foam plastic lining which is premolded to the dimensions of a "75 percentile man".
U.S. Pat. No. 4,067,075--Leathers et al shows an inflatable stretcher having a plurality of inflatable support members arranged in a herringbone pattern.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,802,004--Whitney shows a waterbed for a person having longterm disabilities. There are a pair of air cells, and by selective inflation of these air cells the depth of the fluid in the waterbed can be raised or lowered without changing the amount of fluid in the bed.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,775,782--Rice et al shows an inflatable aquatic rescue board. Prior to inflation, the rescue board is quite flexible, permitting it to be rolled into a compact bundle for storage. Upon activation of a self-contained compressed gas supply, the rescue board becomes stiff and buoyant to form an aquatic stretcher. The person rests on the board, and straps keep the person in place.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,477,071--Emerson shows what is called a "device for automatically shifting the body of a patient". The patient lies on at least two elongated bladders which can be alternately inflated and deflated to shift the patient.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,460,531--Gardner shows an inflatable splint which is wrapped around a body member, laced up, and then inflated to provide support for the body member.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,212,497--Dickenson shows a moldable temporary splint having two inflatable bladder-like halves which enclose the joint of a person.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,770,465--Dandurand shows a rescue sled having a stretcher body 14.
German patent number 2,263,605--Grunecker et al shows what appears to be a transport system for a person where there is a generally planar base member on which the person is positioned, and a pair of cover members which are folded over from side locations to cover the person. A translation of this patent is not presently available.